Trial run

Did a “driveway campground” campout last night.

Even though we’ve had the pop-up for over a month now we still hadn’t used it, per se. Not for lack of desire, rather it’s just been problems with scheduling and commitments. Last weekend was little Geoana’s (belated) birthday party, a very labor-intensive endeavor. The weekend before that, a church function. The weekend previous--well, you get the idea.

During this past week I decided to get the rig up on Saturday even if it’s only in the driveway. Sleeping one night in the thing might just give us the chance to see how things feel, what we need to buy and/or keep in the camper, and help prepare us for the maiden voyage.

We even let little Geoana have one of her friends over, although I realized a little too late that this might resemble more of a giggling-girl-slumber-party vibe than an actual campout (unless girl-dominant camping trips involve inane conversations and boy-bashing exchanges). I finally had to tell them, in loud and no uncertain terms, that if they didn’t quiet down they could leave the camper and head down to the basement. It worked.

Geogal joined me in this out of the house but-not-off-the-property overnighter. I full well expected her to enjoy the luxury of having the master bedroom all to herself but the girls persuaded her to slumber in our “tent with wheels.”

Once darkness fell and the girls got quiet it was time to allow Morpheus to do his thing. Not surprisingly it took me a while. Often does when I’m in a new or unfamiliar environment and other humans in close proximity (Geogal excepted) doesn’t help.

Start drifting off to sleep. Then I hear “tunk.....tunk.......tunk......tunk...tunk..tunk, tunk, tunk, TUNK.”

Raindrops.

I expected this. Been keeping my eye on the forecast since Friday. And Geogal (enjoying the driveway campground’s wi-fi) used her iPod Touch to access the weather info.

I remember reading what someone once wrote, somewhere, about how camping allows you to be lulled to sleep by the soundtrack of Mother Nature. Including rain. Rather than stress about the cloudburst I tried to use the rhythm as something relaxing. It worked.

Woke up some time later. Still dark. Still raining (although in a canvas-covered shelter even the smallest raindrops can sound menacing.

I’ve gotta pee.

Think about it for a while, then decide to do what’s best. I get up, reach over for Geogal’s purse (keys are on top and she locked the front door of the house). Try to exit without making much noise. Turns out when it’s raining you have plenty of external sounds to drown out your actions.

Go into the house, do my business, check clock in kitchen (3:30). Well, hey. At least it’s not 11:15 at night.

Return to camper. Geogal is up, waiting for me to return. Wanting to make sure everything’s all right (it is). I then proceed to knock over a small cup of water that little Geoana’s friend left near our water dispenser which just happens to be right next to my bunk. Oh, well. It’s a spill but not too much of one.

Then I try to fall asleep again. So does Geogal. She gets there before I do.

Then I knock over the water container. Spills all over the inside of the rig. Only now the camper seems to be much bigger than before. About the size of a small house. I mumble words that I won’t repeat here.

And then I woke up.

Much like a certain season of “Dallas,” it was all a dream. At least the massive amount of spilled water was. Just to be sure I glance over at the water dispenser. Safe and sound. Also has the lid screwed tightly on top. Geogal’s snoozing away. So are the little ones. I close my eyes and think of pleasant things.

Wake up. It’s lighter now. Yet I don’t know what time it is because my clock radio with the large numerals (I’m nearsighted) is nestled away on my nightstand in the master bedroom. I don’t have my cell phone in the camper. And Geogal’s iPod Touch? I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for it. No matter.

I do some more dozing. More dreams, but none involve liquids. Open my eyes again. Daylight. No rain. Quiet. Peaceful.

Nice! So this is one of the reasons people camp.

I take a few minutes to just enjoy the atmosphere. Then I sit up, get my coffeemaker ready (brought it in from the kitchen before hitting the hay). A few more minutes, I’m enjoying fresh-brewed java in the cool of the morning.

Very nice.

I savored the time before the realities of Sunday morning forced me out of the camper and into the house for shaving, showering, dressing, and making sure everyone else is up in time to get to Sunday school and church service.

Yep, I think we’re ready to take the camper somewhere.

Gardening and Camping

I'm so glad winter is gone. Mornings are still brisk but it beats having to scrape ice (or snow, or both) off my windshield.

Spent a good chunk of yesterday outside although most of it was due to little Geoana's sports-related activities. A soccer doubleheader followed by a softball competition. By the end of the day all three of us were sunburned. How quickly we forget that even though the air temperature is only in the low 60's we are still victim to Old Sol's UV rays.

Anyway, didn't start my "fun" stuff until later in the afternoon. I hitched up the camper and drove her off the grass (had to mow). Undid the bolts holding the propane tank then used a very precise and scientific method to check for the amount of fuel. Just a fancy and sarcastic way to say I picked up the tank. Hmmmm. Not as heavy as a full one but too much weight to be empty. I'll just take it to my local Hank Hill and have him top it off.

Bolted the tank back into place then drove the rig out to one of the city parks. I used a deserted and very large parking area to practice backing. Let's just say I hope to improve with experience (and a whole lot more practice).

Still waiting for that maiden voyage. Our Saturday schedules for May are more full than we first realized. Yet before the month is out we intend to take the rig on a quick Saturday-overnight trip, probably to a nearby destination in Nebraska.

What's on tap for today? More outside activity (yeah!), today's being in the garden. By sundown I hope to have more weeding done and have some onions and Yukon Gold seed potatoes planted. Time to take advantage of these warmer temps. Plus the Vitamin D I'll get from the sun-time couldn't hurt, either.

"IAMMMMW" Loses Another One

"It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," one of my favorite movies (credit Geogal for introducing me to it) has lost another lead actor.

I saw Dorothy Provine's obit on the wires yesterday. While she's not a household name in this day and age, she evidently was well-known back in the 50's and 60's. To her credit she retired from acting and had enough sense to stay out of the spotlight. For a one-time Tinseltown figure to be married to the same man for 43 years says something.

If you don't recall her character (warning--spoiler ahead), she's the one who first noticed the "Big W." (Cue the choral voices.)

The flick was made almost 50 years ago and I can only recall three lead actors who are still with us: Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, and Sid Caesar. And of the notables who made cameo appearances Jerry Lewis is the only one (from my quick recollection) who hasn't gone to that great film set in the sky.

If you haven't seen "IAMMMMW" I strongly recommend it. Ethel Merman's over the top portrayal of the mother-in-law from hell, the control tower scene, the "fistfight" between Milton Berle and Terry-Thomas (neither one would do well in a bar brawl), Phil Silvers doing what he did best, and any scene involving Sylvester make this long movie worth your time.

I'm only scratching the surface with all the aforementioned vignettes. Hmmm, I might just pop it in the DVD player sometime real soon.

Mile High Musings

Just got back from Denver. Reason for the journey? Just some R & R, along with visiting some retailers. First stop was the Apple Store, just had to check out the iPad.

Turns out we weren't wowed. It's an OK device but considering Geogal already has an iPod Touch this newer gadget didn't seem to offer us much. Sure, you can read books as well as watch movies, plus surf the ever-increasing web but we agreed the iPad lacks a camera not to mention a USB port.

That's OK. We need to spend our hard-earned cash on other things right now.

The high point of the trip? For me it was a visit to the Tattered Cover bookstore. Geogal and I planned ahead and she dropped me off there Saturday morning. And left me there for over three hours.

Seems like they flew by.

(I like bookstores overall, but I really enjoy the non-chain ones where I'm likely to find a significant variety of tomes. The Tattered Cover didn't disappoint.)

Besides I had to escape the media for a while, particularly given the Tim Tebow lovefest provided by the local broadcast outlets.

Speaking of local media, I definitely fired up the EyeTV and enjoyed plenty of Denver's TV offerings. There's nothing like comparing your over-the-air reception 720p hi-def picture quality to that of the same-channel-but-piped-in-by-satellite image one sees over the hotel's flat-screen.

Over-the-air wins, hands down.

I also collected several legal ID snapshots, which I will post at one of my other pages. I started the project by featuring some other stations from a city about 70 miles south of Denber, it's been up for a few weeks. Go here, and enjoy what I've got so far. I still have several more stations I need to add.

Sun and fresh air

Yesterday was a tailor-made Saturday. Little wind (around here that's about as good as it gets), warm temps, and plenty of sunlight. I took advantage of the day to do a fair amount of yard work plus another activity to which I have been looking forward.

Set up the camper. Popped it up, unzipped some windows, aired it out. Surprise of surprises it didn't have a musty smell I expected after a long winter in storage. Also I was gratified to see I didn't need to give it a good cleaning (the prior owners kept their word and cleaned it out good).

Just get out the Shop-Vac, suck away some accumulated dirt and dust from the outer edges and crevices, and the thing was ready to show off to friends.

Also had Geogal take some pictures. (I still can't find my HP camera, nor can I find Geogal's older Canon. So here are some shots she took with her fancy shmancy Canon I got her for Christmas.)

New Adventures

That's my hope.

We bought a small pop-up trailer. The Geofamily will now ofically be campers.

Found a used Fleetwood in the local classifieds, I picked it up this evening. On the drive from Selden (the town nearest the farming family from whom we bought the rig) I found myself with a sudden sense of deja-vu.

No wonder. I drove this very same route two years ago, only I was pulling a U-Haul trailer instead of a much-lighter camper.

I'll post some pictures soon. I already know what the weekend holds in store: opening the thing up and doing some heavy cleaning.

Remake-itis

I didn't pay much attention when I noticed "Clash of the Titans" (new and updated-technology version) scheduled to hit the multiplexes. Yet yesterday, when Geogal told me of a slew of '80's flicks that are green-lighted for remake I almost choked on my beverage.

Lessee, "The Karate Kid," "Tron," "Footloose," and "Red Dawn," just to name a few.

Yeech.

Once Geogal told me the news I responded with: "What's next, 'Ferris Beuller's Day Off'?" Followed by my off-the-top-of-my-head reciting of: "They bought it. One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second."

Never mind that a fair amount of good 80's movies were subsequently tarnished by lame sequels. (Seen "Caddyshack 2?" No? Neither have I. Ditto for "Arthur 2, On The Rocks.")

And although it's not a sequel and has no connection to "Ferris Beuller..", the movie "Election" was something no doubt pleasurable to teachers everywhere, seeing the actor who portrayed the outsmart-everyone-else Ferris get his comeuppance at the hands of a viciously ambitious student.

Still, I decided to do a Net search for remakes either in progress or in the planning stages.

Yeech yeech.

On the flip side, here's someone's list of 80's movies that are NOT being remade. At least not yet.

And keep coming back here. Geogal and I are in the process of creating a movie list I alluded to some time ago: The ten best science fiction movies that are not "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" related.

Our picks might surprise you.

I'm not fooled

Late last week the outside temps started going up. Then Saturday, little Geoana's first soccer game of the season, it was gray, cloudy, and in the low 40's with a bitter biting wind.

Sunday (of course!) the thermometer returned to 60s and 70s range.

Yesterday we hit the low 80's. Way too nice for northwest Kansas in March. This week I'm seeing just how many meals I can cook outside (i.e. grill) before we have another bust of the cold.

That's right. I'm going into my third April here on the prairie (time flies, don't it?) and I figure we're not out of the frigid cold just yet. Spring is here and that means varying temperatures that can sometimes be extreme. I don't care if the weather predictors have us nice and warm for the present, I know Mother Nature is lurking, getting that Arctic air ready for one final blast before taking the cold to the southern hemisphere.

Still it's nice not to have to wear a jacket outdoors and have the windows open for a change. C'mon summer!

Living Without A Modern Convenience

On Friday our microwave acted funny. By funny I mean "making sparking noises and giving off an electrical smell." So now we are in the market for a new one. However since we live in a rural area and the nearest Wal-Mart is about an hour away we now have a challenge of seeing how long we can live without a kitchen nuker.

(Yes, we do have retailers here in town but none of their microwave products meet our needs.)

Hey, it couldn't be any worse than the summer of 2001 where, following a house fire, we subsisted using a kitchen that did not have a working range until the repair/remodel was complete. Geogal and I learned to make do with a microwave, an electric skillet, a deep fryer, and a toaster oven.

We survived.

Sunday Night Live

Some more quick hitters:

Got (like a lot of sports fans) a fair amount of college hoops this weekend. And yes, my team lost. Even though the Aggies blew it in the final moments and Michigan State is going on to the Sweet 16, there's no such thing as a moral victory.

Still, there's always next season.

The Big 12 was decimated. Go K-State Wildcats! Go Baylor Bears!

Also can't help noticing that the three old-time rivals, New Mexico State, UTEP, and the University of New Mexico didn't make it out of this weekend.

What was I saying about next season?

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Made a vegetarian dish for supper this evening: Black Bean Chili. Even finicky little Geoana liked it ("This is awesome," she said). So, Sweet Cousin Julie, rest assured there is at least one tasty vegan (that's right, no animal products anywhere in this concoction) dish out there that's loaded with flavor and fills you up to boot. Impress your Galveston friends!

This one will probably be a staple on the upcoming camping sojourn to Yellowstone (one of our Arizona friends is a strict veggie eater).

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Finished up another chore of bathroom remodeling work, nailing in the baseboard molding. Did that yesterday, now today my glutes (oh, let's just be blunt--my butt muscles) really hurt. All that bending down and getting up. Now to just get some help installing the light fixture and having D.K. assist me in putting the door over the shutoff valves and this project will be DONE. And thanks, Mom and Dad, for the compliments about me taking on such a job. Who knows, maybe I'll be doing drywall repair in your house someday.

The hobby continues

I promise, this is the last entry about my Texas trip. I will soon move on to other subjects.

(Sneak preview: Summer vacation, 2010. We'll be meeting our Arizona friends at Yellowstone. Camping, again. Geogal has already instructed me to take one of the guns and assured me we will stop for ammunition. Bear protection.)

Back to the past. Even though I was traveling for a family funeral there's nothing that said I couldn't indulge my pastime of plugging in the DTV stick and seeing what channels I can get on the MacBook. And ever since I bought the EyeTV hybrid I've been wondering what I could receive while sitting at Mom and Dad's kitchen table in Seguin. I used to take my little analog receiver (yes, that one) and marvel that I could watch nearly all of the San Antonio stations and most of the Austin ones as well.

But digital? Not so much. I couldn't grab the VHF residents (KLRN and KSAT from the Alamo City and KTBC/Austin) with my dinky rabbit ears. WOAI , KENS, KABB, and a couple of Spanish-language outlets were there for my enjoyment. While the scan detected KEYE, KXAN, KLRU, and KVUE from the capital city the antenna couldn't provide a strong enough to-be-watchable signal.

Before flying out of Austin I wanted to set up my gear and do another scan. I did so, only this was inside the airport terminal where the RF and solid construction served to wreak havoc with my DTV enjoyment. Just a couple were there for the taking. I got screengrabs but didn't have the luxury of time to catch the legal ID's.

It was time for the local Saturday morning news shows. Here's an image from KVUE:



And one from KXAN:



Side note: Over the past many months I've accumulated some legal ID screencaps from my journeys. I'll soon post them at my other blog-site.

Assorted chum

The following is a conversation which shows just how plugged-in the Geohouse is:

Me: "What's the URL for that site in Colorado that rents camper trailers?"

Geogal: "I think it's campingadventures, or adventurescamping, or something like that. It's in the history."

Me: "Which browser, and which machine?"

This is what is bound to happen when you have two full-fledged Macs and an iPod Touch. Plus I got the latest issue of Mac-Life and now I really want an iPad.

(It'll be a hoot to revisit this entry in 2020 and see just how cheesy and retro the aforementioned devices became.)

Seguin

All of us, save those who are either military brats or true gypsies, have one spot on the map to which we will always feel a connection. It might be one’s hometown, a place you were born, raised, graduated from high school, and where your family of origin still resides. For others it is a city where you started your career, fell in love (for real this time) and started a family of your own. A third category would be a place that forever will link you to your forebears.

I fall into that last criteria.

The place is Seguin, Texas. It has a population of some 25,000 residents but still pales in size compared to its nearby neighbors, New Braunfels (40k) and San Marcos (over 50,000, although I don’t know if that takes into account the student population of Texas State University).

Even though it boasts the world’s largest pecan and has a couple of state historic sites (Los Nogales and Sebastopol) many Texans are unaware of this place. In fact I had a recent phone conversation with a professional colleague in which I mentioned my recent jaunt to Seguin. This person lives and works in Austin, barely an hour’s drive to the north. She didn’t know whereof I spoke and one of her coworkers had to clue her in.

The regular readers of this blog who are not members of my family might deduce this is where my recently deceased grandmother lived. You’re right. If I recall correctly she lived there for 68 years. My mother, while not native to Seguin, lived there for most of her childhood, leaving after high school graduation to attend the University of Texas. She and my father retired to Seguin many years back. My aunt and uncle were born there. I’ve visited this town more times than I can recall. Since I’ve lived several places and several states during my life I can’t say I have a true hometown. I do, however, have Seguin.

And there lies the connection.

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Flashback to Tuesday, March 2. I’ve landed at Austin Bergstrom and am zooming (as much as the speed limit and rush-hour traffic will allow) toward Seguin. To show you how task-oriented I was at the time, I drove by two renowned barbecue joints in the town of Lockhart, which unabashedly proclaims itself to to be the “Barbecue Capital of Texas,” per the state legislature. I’m hungry, it is the dinner hour, and I’ve been traveling since 7:30 in the morning. I don’t stop and eat at either Black’s Barbecue or Kreuz Market. Nope, I tell myself. Gotta get to Seguin.

I’m traveling alone and I admit I enjoy the solitude and low stress level of making a journey by my lonesome. I don’t have to hear the wife and child getting fed up with each other (or me feeling the same way about them). No talking. I get to be alone with my thoughts.

I reach Luling and merge onto Interstate 10, westbound. The sun’s going down. Fatigue is starting to get me. “Just a short distance more,” I keep telling myself. Soon I see a sign: “F.M. 1104, Kingsbury, next exit.” My mother’s words from the mid-1970’s came into my head.

“See that sign? It’s Kingsbury. That means the next town is Seguin.”

Ever since moving “back” to Texas from the east coast in 1974, the drive to Seguin was something of a family tradition. Several times a year mom, dad, my sisters, and I would visit Seguin and grandma. Always took Interstate 10. Usually started the trip in late afternoon (if it was a Friday). Depending on the time of year we would sometimes arrive in darkness. And always that Kingsbury exit sign was a harbinger that our destination was but a few more miles down the road.

Back to the present. I pass a new Texas rest area, large and welcoming. There’s a nice traveler center and free Wi-Fi. None of us could even imagine a thing like that back in the days of President Ford, a 55-miles-per-hour speed limit, and cars running on leaded gasoline. Then I pass a construction zone. This must be the interchange for the new Texas Highway 130, a toll road. (Yet another thing you couldn’t fathom back in the old days).

Finally I see the lights of my destination. End of the road for now. Check into the hotel, make sure I look somewhat presentable, and go out to meet the rest of the family.

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I remember 1982. Fourth of July holiday time. Our family was in the midst of a move from Texas to Albuquerque. First stop was Seguin. Spend a few days at Grandma’s before dad and I hit the road to New Mexico. At that time Seguin’s Independence Day celebration was referred to as the “Freedom Fiesta.” Huge midway, kiddie rides, face painting, a haunted house (which always served to scare the beheejees out of my younger sister), live bands, and food. Lots of food.

At this particular Fiesta I saw someone holding what looked like a taco. Only it wasn’t a taco. Not the traditional version, anyway. I saw strips of meat in a flour tortilla (in Texas at this time the corn tortilla ruled the Mexican food roost). It was a small flour tortilla, almost the size of its corn counterpart. I’m not sure why it looked appealing to me, I only remember that it just did. “I’ve got to try one of these.” I headed over to the food vendors and soon found my prey. The Seguin Jaycees were selling something called “fajitas.” I queued up, paid my money, and soon held in my hand that mysterious concoction that looked so appealing just a few minutes before.

First bite. My taste buds sent the brain’s pleasure center into overdrive. After downing that first fajita I bought another. Soon the rest of my family was intrigued by this unknown combination of grilled flank steak, guacamole, onions, and jalapenos served in a small four tortilla that folded in half, similar to a taco.

Those Jaycees must have done well with the fajita booth that July. I think my clan alone paid for several of their civic projects over the next fiscal year.

Illegal drug users, especially those who used cocaine or heroin, always describe their very first use. Because of drug use causing changes to the brain chemistry they never experience that wonderful, euphoric “first high” ever again.

I think I myself will be chasing that “first fajita high” for the rest of my days. I’ve eaten them at dozens of restaurants in numerous locales over many years but never again have I had one as good as those first ones in Seguin.

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I haven’t lived in Texas since the aforementioned move out of state in 1982. But it seems no matter where I live I always feel anchored to Seguin. While my own child likely won’t have the same connection to this burg I am positive the “family ties” will continue in my extended kinsfolk. Whether it’s from those who graduated from Texas Lutheran University or simply those who make frequent visits to my mom and dad’s house, my maternal grandparents’ descendants are unquestionably tied to this nondescript South-Central Texas town. It’s not a perfect place and no doubt it has its seedy areas (some of which I saw on this most recent visit). Still, revisiting the words I used to begin this essay, just about all of us feel some tie to a place on the map. Seguin is my place. I knew this all along but it wasn’t until I was well into adulthood that I could cognitively determine this bond. Grandma’s death and funeral, which necessitated my journey, seemed to finally put it all together to the point where I can translate my thoughts and memories into the written word. For those of you reading this who are not members of my family, be sure to enjoy and celebrate wherever it is you feel that unchanging and indescribable bond . And for those of you who are a part of my mother’s family, I’ll bet your place is Seguin, too.

Go Cinderella!

Way to go, Aggies!!

Back From Texas

Some readers of this blog didn't even know I was gone. But I was. Last week I headed to Texas as my grandmother died a couple of Fridays ago (she was 98). I'll share more impressions of the journey in a future entry (expect it around the weekend).

Even though the occasion was tinged with sadness I still took delight in the travel notwithstanding my elevated stress due to never-ending travel arrangements. Once I'm in the aircraft with the seatbelt buckled everything seems right with the world.

The middle and ending parts of last week also featured some of the best weather to be found in South Texas. Not too hot, not too cold. Not humid. Beautiful blue sky and abundant sunshine.

Although the funeral was my purpose for being there there was no law saying I couldn't enjoy being away from the home front once my duty as a pallbearer and supportive family member drew to a close. Geodad and I even set aside a few hours and visited Cabela's in Buda (huge, HUGE place!--much larger than the Kearney location I frequent).

Then there's the food. No visit to The Lone Star State would be complete without treating my palate to chicken-fried steak, Whataburger, Tex-Mex, and BBQ. Did all four although the Tex-Mex was only symbolic, a couple of tamales made by a friend of the family as matter of condolence.

Still, they were good.

And no, I didn't get on the scale upon returning home.

Geogal and I also got to try the Apple version of Skype, iChat. Videoconferencing is mighty easy once you get an iMac and a MacBook to talk to each other.

Didn't bring the Sirius tuner with me and I was OK with terrestrial radio this time around. Did I mention San Antonio has the two best country music stations around? Y100 on the FM dial and 680 KKYX on the AM band. Modern country and classic country respectively. I challenge you to find a better duo. Shortly after landing and procuring my rental vehicle I heard Y100 list the nightlife and they included who was playing at Gruene Hall (touted by their web site as "Texas' oldest dance hall"). To save you out-of-staters a trip to Google, Gruene (pronounced "green") is a very historic very small burg completely surrounded now by New Braunfels. The definitive one-of-a-kind place.

I also picked up a copy of Texas Monthly, a publication I've read on and off for the past 30 years (yes, I was even perusing it as a high schooler). Their cover story this month is: "The Bucket List, 63 things all Texans should do before they die."

Turns out I've done several of them already. #5, See the world in San Antonio (the viewing deck at the Tower of the Americas); #6, Visit the State Fair of Texas; #18, Drive the River Road, near Lajitas; #19, Drink a free beer at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner (I actually drank four); #37, Ride the ferry between Galveston and the Bolivar Penninsula; #46, Watch two classic Texas films (The Last Picture Show and Tender Mercies), #52, Roll down Miller Hill in Houston (Hermann Park, to be exact. My sister and I called it "Dead Man's Hill.")

Back to food and drink. One remembrance of Grandma is visiting her house in Seguin as a small child. It was summertime (it always seemed to be summertime there). She had the ice chest full of drinkables: Coca Cola, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and Big Red. 12-ounce glass bottles. Best soda I ever drank.

A couple of days after the funeral I went (along with the Geoparents) to City Market in nearby Luling for a BBQ lunch. I got a half pound of brisket, a half-pound of ribs, and a slice of white bread (Mrs. Bairds). Washed it all down with a bottle of cold Big Red.

A glass bottle.

Quick little bits

Not enough for any lengthy prose, but here are some recent musings:

It snowed here last Saturday night/into Sunday morning. Only an inch and a half, not enough to be troublesome or impair normal life. Just enough, though, for little Geoana and one of her friends to go sledding at the park.

While I was standing around and being the responsible adult I looked at the bare trees, the gray sky, the white ground and thought to myself: "Just a few more weeks and things will start greening up and warming up."

Come, spring. Come.

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Still haven't found my camera. If it really has disappeared from the face of the earth no real big deal. Its vintage is nearly ten years told which is downright ancient for a digital device. I don't have any irreplaceable pictures on its memory card right now and Geogal has a newer Canon she would gladly let me use. Only problem is I would have to peruse the manual as its menu system is not exactly user-friendly.

Where is that dadgum camera?

And while I'm on the subject, where's my thumb drive?

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Regular readers of this blog already know I don't watch or follow "American Idol." I used to enjoy it until, yes, Sanjaya. For me that was the "jump the shark" moment. Geogal still watches it when she can and I recently noticed that Ellen DeGeneres is now a judge.

One question: Why?

Simon, Randy, Paula (gone but not forgotten), and Kara all have music industry credentials. Ellen? She's a comedian.

Patti LaBelle seems to agree.

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Speaking of television it probably won't be long before Geogal and I set up a home network allowing streaming video to be watched on the regular TV. We're watching the regular stuff less and less and Hulu seems to be the most popular channel in the house.

Geogal watches "General Hospital." I watch "Emergency!" and "Adam 12."

A crash course in moving to the heartland

I read this story but just cannot sympathize with the Florida folks.

Here's a tip: Don't come to a town like that wearing gold chains, a Rolex, and driving a Lexus.

Happy Love Day, Everyone!

Today's title comes from the Simpsons episode "Trash of the Titans," which begins with Madison Avenue discussing the lack of celebratory day between the Fourth of July and Labor Day (if I remember correctly). The team is charged with creating a new celebration to justify card sales and gift giving and the last words given by the head honcho are: "Something called 'Love Day,' only more commercial." Cut to Marge proclaiming to the rest of the Simpson brood: "Happy Love Day, everyone!"

It started Friday with several coworkers, colleagues, and cohorts receiving floral-involved items from significant others. Culminates today (natch) and the Geohouse is no different. I gave Geogal a nice spa/aquamassage certificate but I was quite surprised with my gifts. Plural.

One was an aluminum laptop stand for the MacBook. No surprise here. I saw the confirmation e-mail in the account before Geogal had a chance to move it. Finally I have sweet revenge for her advance knowledge of Christmas gifts many years ago when she looked in the checkbook and saw the carbons from my purchases. (This was so many years ago, we didn't even have a debit card at the time.)

But the other was a total shock: new iPod nano. I have a first-generation one, one gig. The new one is 8 gigs. Finally I can have the entire ninth symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven on my personal player and still have room for the rest of my library as well. This Nano also shoots video (similar to a Flip, I suppose), has an FM tuner (I won't be using it) and plays video, something that didn't appear until later models. I'm having fun with the new toy.
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Did some out-of-town shopping yesterday. Visited Cabela's, finally figured out what to give little Geoana for a future birthday or Christmas gift: A Remington pump-action 20 gauge. Perfect for the gals. I'm not sure how soon she'll receive it, though. I can't fathom my young child having a better firearm then I do.
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Windy today, a cold bitter wind. At least Mother Nature redeemed this day by giving us bright sunshine with nary a cloud in the sky. Mostly staying indoors today, a pot of green chile is simmering on the stove. Overall, not a bad day.

February funk

Football season is over. In my previous entry I mused over some Vikings QB and his future in the league. My guess is that he will return but it's even odds as to whether he will have a 2008 Jets season or a 2009 Vikings-type performance. I predict the former so feel free to post nasty comments here come December if I'm wrong.

Hunting season is over. I went out a few times but never got a pheasant. No matter, I enjoyed every minute of it and only regret I didn't get out more. Still, as Chicago Cubs fans say, just wait till next season! (And there is spring turkey season still ahead, shotgun can be used from April 14 through May 31. Maybe I'll take little Geoana and let her use the turkey call she got for Christmas.)

Six more weeks of winter? I wish. Cold times seem to last a bit longer up here on the prairie. Shoot, come April there will still be days that give us the shivers.

Went to Colorado a couple of weeks ago (work-related). Geogal and little Geoana did the fun touristy stuff while I sat inside a hotel ballroom listening to presenters drone on. Actually my professional-related activities were not too terribly boring but given my penchant for the outdoors it just seemed a sin to be in a windowless room.

Long day at work today. Two colleagues gone which means more work for those of us on the team. While the day goes much quicker if one is busy the fatigue factor come sundown is much more intense. So much so that when I got home I ditched the idea of cooking and persuaded the family to go to "be bad" and go to a local eatery.

It didn't take much persuasion.

The annual "will he or won't he??"

Yes, I'm referring to Bret Favre.

Good game, by the way. Going into overtime is exactly how you want a conference championship matchup to be. Especially when you don't really care who wins.

Geogal told me one of her close Arizona friends is suggesting we go there over spring break, citing Geogal's recent head cold as reason for us to visit the desert.

My response: "If Favre calls a press conference to announce he's retiring (again), I'm catching a plane to Phoenix so I can eat a chicken-fried steak at the TexAz Grill."

Why?

Last time I was there they had the TVs tuned to his (first annual) retirement press conference.

Just seems right.

Historic day in the Geohouse

Just a little after 6:30 this morning I took a shower.

Before you say “So what?”, this shower was significant in that it marked the first use of the new shower stall in the basement bathroom.

Yes indeed, the bathroom redo is 97% complete. As of today the only tasks that remain are to install a new towel rod, nail in the baseboard molding, and create a small door that will cover the shut-off valves that control the shower faucet.

Friday and yesterday D.K. (my project advisor, fellow worker, and guy who makes sure I don’t get in over my head) completed the shower install, marking the end of the job with caulking the outside edges (mainly for looks).

And man, does it look good!

D.K. made a great point on Friday. He said “this shower just fought us every step of the way.” Very true.

From the start we knew this would be more than a “demo the old shower and put in a new one” project. First we had to put in shut off valves which would enable us to have the water to the shower faucet cut off for the duration (in case you didn’t know this, most houses don’t have these). After that, re-route the plumbing to the new faucet location (behind drywall). Once we finished that task, then it seemed a simple matter of building the new shower stall.

But wait. We had to smash up some concrete in order to put in a new drain P-trap. (Apparently the drain for the old shower was non-standard and would not match up to a new shower stall without extreme jerry-rigging.) Trust me it was just easier for us to tear up some of the concrete and replace the P-trap. In the midst of this process a professional plumber strongly recommended we go with a brass drain rather than the plastic one included in the shower stall kit. As it turned out, once we replaced the P-trap it was very easy to fit up a brass drain. (Thanks for the free advice, Larry.)

But now we’re getting closer to having this finished! Or so we thought.

It comes time to install the faucet handle, just a typical Moen shower faucet kit. Uh-oh. Since the shower stall is designed to fit away from the drywall (rather than flush on a tile wall), a regular faucet kit is too short for the handle to go on. About 9/16th of an inch too short.

Much swearing and hand-wringing ensued.

But on to a possible solution. D.K. knows someone who does metal work. Maybe they can create the longer pieces we need. He starts looking into this, gets an answer in the affirmative, but in the meantime speaks to a Moen customer service representative.

Well, well. Turns out we did everything correctly. Moen sells a faucet extension kit for just these types of projects. D.K. orders one online, gets the run-around from the seller, but eventually the extension kit finds its way here.

Fits perfectly. Things are going swimmingly until D.K. accidentally drops one of the 3 inch stainless steel screws (for securing the faucet handle trim onto the faucet valve) down the wrong side of the shower wall. After trying a yardstick with packing tape wadded onto one end, busting my brain to think of other ways to retrieve the screw, then finally giving up, I try my luck with hardware stores.

Do you know how hard it is to find these types of screws? Mighty difficult. (It doesn’t help that these are screws for plumbing purposes, rather than regular construction.) I finally go to the Fastenal web site, pick out what I need, create an account, and place the order.

A few days ago the screws (I wanted to make sure I had backups in case we had another “drop”) arrived and on went the trim. Rest of the faucet handle goes on without a hitch, get the sliding door onto the shower, caulk everything up good, and Geogal and I now have a fully functional 3/4 bath in the basement.

Not only is it aesthetically much more pleasant, this bathroom is much improved over the previous version:

• Toilet, sink, and shower all are designed for lower water usage
• Replaced the regular electrical receptacle with a GFI
• Re-routed wiring allowing for a safer layout
• New cork flooring is not only “green,” but it looks great to boot
• Old drywall replaced with moisture-resistant “greenboard”
• New shut-off valves for toilet and sink

As soon as I find my camera (no joke) I’ll post a couple of pictures to illustrate what I could never describe in prose.

Chilled and chillin

Even though today's high never got out of the single digits and the wind chill was minus something way colder than living beings should have to endure it was still a mighty good day. Got to see sunshine for the first time in 2010. Really, all the preceding days were a mixture of windy snowy cloudy gray gray.

But not to worry, by Sunday the high is supposed to be around 40. Downright balmy, I might get out the Hawaiian shirts.

Overall I don't miss the Arizona desert but the last few nights have had me nestled all snug in my bed, while visions of saguaros danced in my head. Truth be told just a quick recollection of doing any kind of manual labor outside in the 110 degree heat in June breaks me of my "it's too cold" whinyness.

What else is going on? Obviously we're confined to the great indoors for the present. In this day and age of Internet and Netflix the cabin fever can be kept at bay. Plus since the holiday season is a memory a routine of work and chores beats the winter blues.

Netflix movies? I've written before that I've been enjoying older films and recently had a doozy of a double feature. "Zero Hour!" followed by "Airplane!"

You've never heard of "Zero Hour?" Neither had I until I did a little research. Turns out this 1957 celluloid was the inspiration for "Airplane!" Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker bought the rights and "Airplane" took a whole lot of dialogue from the earlier movie. Lines that were written and performed with Serious Intent but just come across with hilarity. Lines such as:

"You're a member of this crew. Can you face some unpleasant facts?"

"I might bend your precious airplane, but I'll get it down in one piece."

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking."

And the best one of all:

"The survival of everyone on board depends on just one thing. Finding someone who can not only fly this plane, but who didn't have fish for dinner!"

Most of my ilk have seen "Airplane!" and probably own it, either on VHS or on DVD. Do yourself a favor, rent "Zero Hour!" Just for funzies, Geogal and I tried to see how long we could watch it before bursting into laughter.

Came at the 4 minute, 25 seconds mark. Let's just say it's a scene involving a military psychiatric hospital.

Other movies we've enjoyed? The old Disney Kurt Russell movies, seemed like they produced about 5 each year. "The Music Man," cited by many as the best con man movie of all time. "The Apartment," showing the worst side of corporate America, at least until "Wall Street."

Plenty more good ones to see, I'm sure. Oh, I almost forgot to mention "Mamma Mia!" It's not that great of a flick but amusing to watch anyway. Geogal was overheard saying: "Hey get a load of this--James Bond can't sing!"

And I missed my chance to see this station

It's not often that a full-power, network-affiliated TV station signs off the air for good. So when I learned (via Web chatter) that KSNB-TV in Superior, Nebraska went dark the first of this month I figured I needed to do some digging.

Sure enough, it's off the air and not just for some temporary, equipment-related deal. No sir. Off the air for good.

What happened?

In short, the transition to digital killed this beast. For decades this station operated over-the-air on VHF channel 4. In the olden analog television world this channel assignment was coveted, offering a signal that could travel quite a distance. Transmitting out over the rolling prairie of southern Nebraska and northern Kansas this meant great coverage. KSNB was originally an ABC affiliate then switched to Fox in the 1990's. Fast-forward to the near-present and KSNB was part of a two-station setup providing Fox programming to the area (the other was KTVG in Grand Island).

Evidently business deals expiring and the lack of any perceived need to keep a digital TV station on low-band VHF in a sparsely populated area contributed to the decision to permanently cease operations on channel 4. Both the Wikipedia article and this piece from the Superior newspaper give sufficient explanation. (Beware--the Superior "newspaper" site smacks of 1995.)

And for the title of today's entry? I had a chance to see this signal back in May when I went on a roundabout road trip with my trusty MacBook. On US 36 near Montrose I parked, powered up, set up the antenna, but did not get KSNB's signal. Why not?

Bad information.

Using TV Fool I checked to see which location would give me the best shot at a viewable picture. However the TV Fool site already had KSNB as broadcasting their digital signal on channel 4, presumably having already done the analog shut-off. Try as I might, I just couldn't get the channel 4 digital signal.

A few days later I learned that in fact, KSNB hadn't yet switched off analog. But due to my impatience and the info I had at the time, I didn't bother letting the Eye TV scan the whole channel spectrum for a signal. I just kept trying with the lower channels and eventually gave up.

Had I switched over and done an analog channel scan, I certainly would have seen them.

But, to use the cliche, that's all water under the bridge. The station is gone.

I doubt anyone will pony up funding and buy the license in an effort to get this signal back on the air. However should that happen it won't be a Fox affiliate. It may end up as an infomercial-heavy channel or a bad-preacher station. Either way it won't be anywhere near its former glory.

Just another chapter in Nebraska TV history. Actually, once you get out of the Omaha market, Nebraska television is about as odd as it gets. I'll soon post an entry with the reasons why.

Snow-filled Sunday

It’s becoming a holiday tradition, I believe.

Drove to Kearney yesterday (yes, a Sunday). Don’t any of you start the backsliding talk--I went to early service and enjoyed the traditional Christmas carols accompanied by nothing more than a piano. After church I topped off the tank then hit the road.

My purpose was twofold: Buy a Christmas tree and finish out some holiday shopping. Yes, you read that right. Finish out. Between my cybershopping and Geogal’s talent for picking out the child’s big gift some time ago I was down to just a few items, mainly for the stockings. Today is December 7 and I cannot recall when I’ve ever been this ahead of the Christmas shopping game this early. I’m enjoying it.

I learned my lesson last year--don’t wait too long to buy the Christmas tree. First I visited a few retailers, stopped at Qdoba for lunch, then picked out a nice-looking spruce. The nice folks at Earl May loaded it into the back of my trusty Toyota and I struck out for home.

Normally the drive from Kearney back home is about as routine as they get. Yesterday though, the weather pundits predicted one to two inches of the white stuff for the area.

Right.

Flakes falling, I headed down the highway, thankful I was with the wind (my payback for being against it all the way to). No real accumulation on the road for which I was thankful. Driving through the occasional town I noticed more conglomeration on the road itself (no wind to blow it away). As I got closer to my own burg the snowpack got more pronounced. FInally the last 30 miles I was using the four-wheel drive for the most part.

One to two inches? Try five.

And we’ve got more expected for tonight. Little Geoana is already banking on tomorrow being a snow day.

What is the tradition I referred to in the opening sentence? Driving to Kearney in less-than-ideal conditions. Remember this?

More thoughts before more football

Last night's game (Texas versus Texas A&M) was quite the nail-biter. I (along with a lot of others) wasn't expecting anything close. All game I kept thinking: "Are these even the same Aggies who got humiliated earlier this season by the University of Arkansas?"

Of course, that's why everyone likes these rivalry games this time of year. And yes, I plan to catch Alabama against Auburn, Nebraska going up against Colorado, and the Backyard Brawl today and tonight even if it means doing a little channel-hopping.

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Bathroom project update: Painting is done and the cork flooring was installed just today. It looks beauty-licious. The shower install is slated for tomorrow and the toilet and sink will likely go in during a couple of evenings next week.

So close to being done I can taste it!

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No waiting-in-line-wake-up-way-early Black Friday shopping for Geogal this year. Probably a good thing, too. She had physical therapy in Nebraska today and her therapist related a Black Friday story. In summation: therapist's husband has wanted a particular TV for some time now. Went to the McCook Wal-Mart very early, thinking "how many people could possibly be there this early--after all this is rural southwest Nebraska." Turns out a whole lot of folks were there, so many that he had trouble finding a parking space and added there was scarcely any room for this crowd of folks to get through the doors.

Yep, I'll pass. I think I mentioned before I'm doing just about all my shopping online this year.

Only 34 years later...

Back in '75 I was invited to a birthday party (I think it was one of the guys in my Cub Scout Den). Slated for a Saturday, the invitation gave the plans as miniature golf. But if it rained (always likely in soggy Houston, Texas) we would all go see "Escape To Witch Mountain." I was hoping to see the flick but despite an overcast day we all did the miniature golf deal. I had fun anyway and did quite well considering I had never before played this game. I even hit my ball into the "win a free game" target at the end (beginner's luck) and got to enjoy another round.

So anyway I never did see "ETWM" until last night. Rented it from Netflix, all three of us enjoyed it. My eight-year-old Geoana liked it and despite the dated special effects the story still holds up well. Yet in a Geoguy-will-always-think-this-way perspective, every time I saw Donald Pleasence my mind's voice would recall a line from "You Only Live Twice," usually: "This is the price of failure, Meeester Bond."

Hey Houston football fans, life's not all bad!

Remember when this guy, and this guy, ruled the NFL roost in southeast Texas?

At least the Texans are respectable.

A break in the action

Tonight I'm stoked. Just had my project advisor (the guy who makes sure I don't royally screw up the bathroom renovation project) and his colleague spray the drywall with texture so the primer and painting will start in earnest soon. Possibly tomorrow soon.

Soon the Geohouse will have a fully functioning and very good-looking basement bathroom. And I will have gained home-improvement knowledge to boot.

But just because I'm occupied with the bathroom redo project doesn't mean my mind can't wander off to other subjects. (And can you find a better sentence with a double negative represented by contractions?)

How about the resurgence of the old Southwest Conference? While Texas remains a powerhouse thanks to Mack Brown one cannot help but notice a red-brick schoolhouse in Fort Worth continues to demolish its competition. And the University of Houston? Texas Tech, while not attracting the attention they did last year, still will wind up with a sweet bowl game invite. Even SMU (the best football team money could buy back in the '80's) is now bowl-eligible.

Other stuff? How about hunting? Last Saturday was historic for the Geofamily. The opening day of pheasant season in Kansas saw me loading up the shotgun, putting on camo and blaze orange, and hitting some fields with a friend. Oh and did I mention I took little Geoana with me? Gave her a chance to tote around her pink BB gun. Might as well make this a family affair.

Results? I got off a few shots, but didn't take down a rooster. Oh well, the season lasts until January 31. God willing I'll get to clean and cook a pheasant.

Lesee, anything else? I'll be doing all of my Christmas shopping online this year (learned my lesson from last December). I'm actually ahead of the game this time, have most of the gifts in mind and know where they can be found in cyberspace.

That's all for now. Just wanted to let all the readers know how things are turning here in the land of Dorothy.

Real life intervenes

The dearth of entries during October for this blog? One reason: bathroom project.

For many weeks now I've been engaged in redoing the basement bathroom. I have even gone as far as to get out the camcorder and shoot a "before" video as well as a little "during." Since the bathroom is just a little more than six foot square and the camcorder lacks a wide-angle lens, don't expect any HGTV-type panning shots in the final edit.

I began demo in the waning days of August and am now at the stage where the last couple of pieces of new drywall (greenboard, no less) are ready to go on. Then comes the mudding, sanding, more mudding (i.e. covering over one's mistakes), more sanding, spraying texture (prep work for that will take way longer than the actual task), applying the primer (Kilz--moisture resistant!!), painting (Geogal will shoulder much of this task), and assembling the new shower stall.

Then wait for the local flooring outfit to install cork flooring, followed by the new toilet and pedestal sink.

After that? As I said to Geogal some time back: "It's my job to get the bathroom functional. It's your job to make it look pretty."

But all of this to say that given the magnitude of the job and the desire to make continual progress, some things have to suffer. Such as blogging, as well as exercise and creative cooking.

Yes, I'm keeping my eye on the prize and thinking about how great the new bathroom will be (the nicest room in the house, in fact). And being done with demo is nice (no more throwing stuff outside regardless of how therapeutic I think it is). Not to mention I'm learning a great deal about construction in the process. This stuff will no doubt serve me well when I engage in future home-improvement projects.

In the meantime I'll try not to ignore my corner of the Internet completely. Before long I'll be again posting about my hobbies and life and such.

Just for now, though, the Geofamily is learning to make do with only one functional bathroom.

The Crud (or is it The Flu?)

Yep, reading today's title pretty much sums up my condition. Came on Monday afternoon, thought (as I always do) that I could shake it off quick. You know, down more fluids, pump a little more of the Vitamin C, get a little rest. Nope. Gets worse before it gets better.

So anyway this morning I struggled through the shower and spent a good half-hour trying to decide whether to stay home and rest or just tough it up and go to work. I decided on the former. One of the downsides of being home ill is that the house is so very quiet during the day. And for me the challenge is to keep my mind occupied lest I get restless. (The fact that today was a nice warm one after several cool ones just made it worse.) Fortunately for me the ever-thoughtful Geogal procured some books from the local library so I spent some of this evening reading short stories by John Updike.

Lessee, chicken soup, orange juice, over-the-counter medication, reading material. Got em all. At least I feel prepared for however long this ailment lasts. Have to admit, though, I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning and the same decision awaiting me...

Blog-worthy

Every now and then I hear of something I deem "blog-worthy." Since coming to Kansas it's usually something quirky about this part of the country or something that's so heinous I feel a need to share it with the world. Today's entry comes from the latter category.

Geogal got back from a church women's retreat held at a campground near Solomon, Kansas. I'll spare my dear readers the bulk of what she shared from the weekend but one item was just too laughter-inducing.

Everyone here who knows me (us, actually) is aware I will not eat Mexican food here unless I make it in my own home. Having lived in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona qualifies me as a connoisseur of the varieties of south-of-the-border cuisine available in the U.S. Southwest. Food around here labeled as "Mexican," isn't. No debate. No discussion.

First she told me of a dish they served called "charo," although I wonder if that was simply a corruption of the Spanish word "caldo." A soup with pinto beans, corn, other veggies, and whole lot of cumin. Apparently it was garden-variety with an excess of cumin to give it flavor.

It gets better. At this time of year tomatoes are plentiful given just about everyone grows them in their garden. One of the ladies brought a load of fresh ripe tomatoes for the cook to make salsa. What was the cooking ladies' concept of salsa? Tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.

No active ingredient.

I felt so sorry for Geogal that this evening I grilled her a nice lamb chop seasoned up just right.

Hit the spot. Mexican food will be served here later this week.

If you're an old TV junkie in need of a good laugh...

Wish this was on YouTube so I could embed the video here.

Oh well. Just click and have a good hearty laugh.

Bring On The 'Boys

I don't spend too much time perusing newspapers but this article from the Dallas Morning News is certainly worth the read.

But lest we engage in too much euphoric recall, let's remember that professional football was changing back in the late 1980's and you can't argue that Landry's way of doing things wasn't working. During his final season the Pokes went 3-13 and they really had not been a dominant team since about 1985. Remember that hideous loss to the Bears? Yeah, I don't want to go back down that road now.

Still Landry had a high level of character and integrity, something that is increasingly rare in today's NFL.

I'm ready for the season to start.

A Near-Perfect Friday Evening

This week was a killer.

At work, that is. Despite having four workdays instead of the usual five it seems this week was equivalent to four Mondays in a row. Today felt like that last push just before the long-distance runner breaks the tape. Exhausting, but worth the effort.

So I come home a little after 5, and I'm tired. Real tired. "French fried" was the term I used with Geogal. She understands.

Not home even 10 minutes and it starts raining. Not the depressant type of rain but a gentle cool cleansing of all things including my fatigued soul. Almost Mother Nature's way of reminding me to slow down and enjoy what she has to offer.

I couldn't order it better than that. I'm home to enjoy it and I have no reason to be out of doors this evening unless I so choose. Relaxing, refreshing, rejuvenating. Even the air smells clean now.

Time to breathe deeply.

So Long Summertime

August is gone. And so is summer. Therefore here are some musings I accumulated over the last many weeks. Nothing to really justify a blog entry of their own:

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Vacation time has come and gone. Overall the trips out of state were good, no problems with travel and Geogal and I had no nasty exchanges or snapping at each other, even toward the end of the trip (which is where it usually happens).

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Add this to the “Only In Texas” category: Where else can you drive for hours, traverse two states, stop at Denton for the night, and have the hotel parking lot full of...Texas license plates? Just like the old saying goes, if you drive “a far piece” in Texas, you most likely will still be in Texas.

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Overheard from a woman during a group cookout in June, hosted by yours truly: “Uh-oh, the men are getting out the guns.”


(But seriously, I was just showing a friend the two rifles my dad gave me. No alcohol or violence involved here.)

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Apparently in some parts of the country what happens outdoors can affect the taste of one’s beverage.

Case in point: Cleburne, Texas. Late July. Go to an Applebee’s (one of the rare national chains I will honor with my presence). Geogal orders iced tea but upon tasting it asks the server if she can bring her something different. “Just not something right about that taste.” The server responded that all of the iced tea varieties might taste odd. Reason? “The lake turned over.”

Seems that a good hard rainstorm will cause the sediment from the lake bottom to rise to the top, resulting in skanky-taking iced tea.

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And to top off this goodbye-summer entry, what do I hear on Sirius 60, The Highway? Yesterday it was Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long.” Today it’s Kenny Chesney singing “Summertime.” And not the Gershwin-penned version, either.

Maybe someone should alert the programmers that September 1 ought to be the cut-off mark for warm-weather odes. I’m surprised they didn’t go for the trifecta and play Alan Jackson’s “Summertime Blues.”

Answering the question

Why?

The question is inevitable. I’m a fortysomething guy with numerous interests and hobbies. So why pursue hunting?

The naysayers might say it’s because I have some latent desire to “be a man.” Others could say I’m giving in to peer pressure. Or is a longing to recapture some youth? Do I need to gather my own meat, a throwback to frontier times?

None of these are correct and many aren’t even close to the real truth. First of all hunting animals does not make me a man, nor does any other singular activity. For me, manhood is defined by taking responsibility for oneself, being a leader of a household, making a commitment to one woman (a vow that is to last for a lifetime), putting in an honest days work, and keeping your word. No, shooting animals doesn’t promote any of these traits.

For me, the reasons to take up hunting are simple. For starters I like to be outdoors. I’ve hiked, backpacked, four-wheeled, and mountain climbed (not a fourteener in Colorado, but a “twelver” in New Mexico). Since the onset of adulthood I haven’t had the leisure time to enjoy a lot of these activities but I also admit I haven’t made them a high priority for much of the time. Earning a living, going to graduate school, and raising a child all take a toll on one’s time. But the good old outdoors is still there, unchanged, ready for me to participate once again.

Second, moving to this area did stir up a desire deep inside of me to hunt. Something about being away from a city or suburbia environment and finding myself smack dab in the middle of pheasant and deer habitat here in NW Kansas ignites a deep-seated yearning to head out on foot and challenge my skills against those of Mother Nature.

Third, while there is no peer pressure on me to join up with friends and acquaintances I do see hunting as an opportunity to connect with others around here in a different way. From what I hear hunting seems to further friendships and gives everyone a way to share a common outdoor experience. Add to that that 97% of the land in Kansas is privately owned meaning no National Forest or BLM land on which to enjoy the great outdoors, and hunting just seems like a natural activity.

To round out my list of reasons I’ll also cite an affinity for shooting. I first did target shooting with a .22 over 30 years ago at summer camp. I liked it then and my thrill of hitting the bullseye hasn’t diminished with time. In fact Geogal and I gave little Geoana a Daisy BB gun for her birthday this year and she seems just as inclined to use it as I am to practice my marksmanship now.

So while I won’t go overboard on this hobby (I just plan to procure the right equipment over the course of time) I do look forward greatly to the fall and the coming of deer and pheasant season. Just this morning there was a crisp feeling to the post-dawn air with an outside temp of 49 degrees. Won’t be long now.

Reward Trip

Yesterday I took the truck and headed for Nebraska. Destination Kearney. Cabela's to be specific.

Not that it takes much to get me through the doors of that establishment, but this journey was special. You see, I spent all of last Saturday completing the Kansas Hunter's Education Course. As I was successful Geogal granted me permission to make a trip to Cabela's to load up on a little gear.

Before I proceed further with purchase details I need to dispel your myths about the hunter education. It isn't a "pay your fee and get a certificate" classroom. (There was no fee, this is taxpayer-funded.) In order to get my certificate I had to complete an extensive online curriculum covering everything from firearm types to hunter ethics to "after the shot." By extensive I mean it took me an entire two evenings (staying up late) to complete before the Saturday classroom portion rolled around. 14 different sections. I had to be familiar with each one or no certificate for me. No Hunter's Education Certificate, no hunting license. No hunting license, and I'm staying home come November.

I had to pass two written tests and an oral one, plus some time at the shooting range. There are worse ways to spend a Saturday but this wasn't all fun and games. (I did, though, get to skeet shoot for the first time in my life. I liked it!!) Was all of this education worth the effort? Yes, I can say without reservation. I know so much more now that I did three weeks ago.

Example: Three weeks ago someone might ask "What kind of shotgun do you have?" My answer back then, "A single-barrel, single-shot."

Now, same question. My response: "A Stevens 16-gauge 2 and three quarter inch, break action, vintage late 1940's or early 1950's."

Why an old firearm? I might have written elsewhere in this blog that my Dad gave me his old shotgun and a 30-30 rifle when he visited last fall. He hasn't hunted since before I was born and these bang-sticks haven't been fired in decades. But that's about to change. I have them with a gunsmith right now, they're in good shape overall, just in need of some cleaning.

So, officially hunter-educated and getting everything ready for autumn, I went to Cabela's yesterday, something of a reward for completing the course. Not to mention I needed gun cases for transportation as well as some way to securely store the firearms (Geogal isn't worried about our little one but her friends might be a concern.) Found both items, plus a blaze orange cap to ensure I won't be shot by another hunter. Hunting is just like any other hobby or interest. You can spend as little or as much as you desire. For now I'm keeping it simple and will stick with the firearms I have. I did look at 12-gauge shotguns yesterday as those are more widely used in hunting, but Cabela's does carry some 16-gauge shot (both lead and non-toxic).

I'll be ready.

Page is up!

Go here to see some more pictures from South Dakota.

The fix turned out to be easier than I expected. Maybe a good night's sleep was the difference.

The Best of Intentions

I'm working on my companion site, one where I have greater freedom to intersperse pictures and text. But with freedom comes responsibility and creating pages over there takes more time and effort.

Last night though, I decided to finish up the South Dakota trip project and have a nice colorful web page ready for publishing. Only the publish function didn't work. A jaunt over to Apple's tech support site provided a possible answer but I was tired and ready to hit the hay by then. Tonight is out too, as I have a previous commitment that will take most of the evening.

My goal is to have the page up for viewing sometime Friday. Wait a minute...going out of town on Saturday. Hmmmm, how do I get the midnight oil burning?

Just a sampling

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I figure I will save myself a lot of typing and let the images speak for themselves.

Back from Black

Just got back from a short getaway to the Black Hills of South Dakota, plus a side trip to Devils Tower, Wyoming. Got to visit some friends of ours from Arizona and let Geogal try some tent-trailer camping. (She's a hotel snob and generally doesn't stay in anything less than a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn.)

I'll be posting some photos later today.

Wrap-up

The Fourth here was great. Block party, meeting folks I've seen but don't really know. Fireworks fireworks fireworks. Both Geogal and I lived in places where they were verboten save for the legally-sanctioned public fireworks display. Not here. Fireworks stands are ubiquitous in this locale and they seem to do great business. Case in point: Our next-door neighbor had an ample supply of the noisy and bright stuff yesterday, but still felt the need to go get more. There was popping and flashing and ooohhhing and aaahhhing until nearly midnight last night.

My guess for the dollar amount of fireworks ignited on our street last night? In the thousands of dollars range.

Did I mention the block party featured grilled burgers, hot dogs, and brats? Guess who spent a lot of time tending the vittles? Yep. I was manning three grills at once. I was "The Man!!"

And the fun ain't over yet. Tonight is the last night the town allows folks to shoot off the loud, made-in-China, don't burn yourself products. And I've still got a few of my own to fire up. There will be some sulfur smell in our neck of the woods tonight!

Happy Fourth of July!

Gotcha on film! (digital media storage, actually)

For those readers who don't believe me about the fauna purported to frequent my back yard and parts beyond, a photo.

Relaxing with my coffee this morning I saw her again. This time I grabbed Geoana's camera, snuck out the front door, circumnavigated around to the rear of the house using a maximum of stealth, and she still retreats (just a bit).

But using the zoom I managed to capture the moment. Only now I have that "Sound of Music" tune going through my head: "Doe, a deer, a fe-male deer."

Enjoy the peace wherever one can get it

I like the early morning. Quiet, the gals of the house are still asleep, they won't be up for quite a while.

I like the early morning in a small town. Quiet, the folks that are already up are going about their business with a minimum of noise or fuss.

I like the early morning living next to a creek. Today I saw a doe not in the creekbed, but in my back yard. Munching on a few crabapples that fell from their tree of origin. She was there for some time, eating to her heart's content. Then she headed for Geogal's garden, particularly the herbs.

Time for me to stand up, let her see me through the window. She did, and didn't seem to care. Yet I think she got the hint and headed further toward the creek.

A few minutes later, she's gone. Vanished back into the thick vegetation that she no doubt adores. Sustenance and cover.

And all of this before I even make my morning coffee.

I like this.

Lazy (Father's) Day

Yesterday was cool, gray, rainy, gloomy.

Today? Hot, sunny, bright.

Lazy both days. Maybe the week was more taxing than I thought. Anyway, if I have an excuse to be docile, today is the day. Leisurely morning followed by a BBQ meal later than lunch but too early for supper (lupper, perhaps?). The grass is still growing but who wants to mow on Father's Day? The closest I'll come to doing any chores today will be taking the garbage to the curb for tomorrow's pickup.

I can always resume an active lifestyle tomorrow.

More to come...

What happens if they shut off analog and there's no outcry? No uprising? No reaction at all??

Checking the different media outlets online, there just isn't much coverage of yesterday's role in broadcasting history. Somehow the sun came up just the same this morning and everyone is going about his or her business.

In my area there was virtually no news coverage, given just about all full-power stations in western Kansas and southern Nebraska switched over months ago.

BTW, I did look at my recording of KABC's analog shutoff which can best be described as anticlimactic. Simply the anchor indicating the countdown had started ("In about ten seconds from now.."). Then a normal join to "All My Children." Evidently DirecTV made the proper arrangements sometime yesterday morning.

In one market, though, Dish Network was caught unprepared. See this. And feel free to laugh as he clicks through the other local channels toward the end of the video.

Analog shut-off, for real this time

You know I had to chime in regarding today's place in the history of television broadcasting. For now, though, I have just one thing to share. After my normal routine of getting up and showering, I went down to the basement and turned on the DirecTV. (Because we live in the middle of nowhere we are able to get the New York and Los Angeles network affiliates on the dish as DirecTV doesn't provide this area with the Wichita channels.) Since the NY stations were already into the national morning news shows I just went straight to the LA channels, who were starting their local news for the day. Couldn't find any news items regarding the switchover but I acknowledge I didn't have a lot of time to sit, watch, and wait. However on KABC there was the crawl saying "If you are seeing this, your TV is not ready for the transition..."

Does DirecTV take its national network feeds directly from the stations' over-the-air transmission? I guess so, although I hope they give the Los Angeles market viewers the digital signal of KABC and the other locals otherwise some viewers in the Southland will be mighty confused.

Yes, I set the DVR to record KABC's analog shutoff at noon Pacific time. If I am indeed getting the analog feed it should be an interesting view.

A drive to Salina

Sorry, no pictures to go with today’s entry. My adventures from two days ago didn’t involve tower hunting. (There likely won’t be any of that until I get my truck into the mechanic--it needs a little attention.)

Saturday. The first 24-hour installment of a long holiday weekend. And what am I doing? Heading to Salina for some retail activity. Yes, it’s shopping, but since I’m by myself this day I get to do the male version of capitalism. In short: Go find what I need, pay for it, get outta there. None of this standing and staring silently for five minutes, then asking “does this make me look fat?”

Sorry, that’s the offshoot of being the only male member of my household, not to mention having two sisters and no brothers. So don’t get to thinking I’m lonely on this trip--rather just the opposite. Plus the drive helps rid me of some of my nervous energy.

As over-the-air TV broadcasting is heading into its final days of analog transmissions (maybe), I wanted to take the laptop and DTV stick with me and see what’s on (and off) the air.

First stop: a rest area on I-70 just east of Russell. And I wasn’t disappointed with this break in the driving. A little background before I share the reception info. Based on my research from TV Fool and the FCC CDBS database I knew that KSNC-DT and KOOD-DT should come in clear as a bell. The one I was curious about is KOCW, licensed to nearby Hoisington. The FCC documents indicate their intent to discontinue analog broadcasting as of March 17. Yet there is another document in the public file showing it will terminate analog broadcasting on June 12, late morning. Hmmm, I wonder which one is correct? (As an aside, KOCW has no companion digital channel as they were licensed after the DTV channel allocations. They will have to flash-cut to digital.)

After scanning, KSNC and KOOD showed with good signals. No KOCW, though. Switch over to analog, do another scan. Question answered: KOCW is still on analog so it appears their plan to flash-cut on June 12 appears in place. They aren’t even operating on reduced power right now (like so many analog channels do before they switch off for good). In fact their analog signal came through as one of the best I’ve ever received. Real clear, no static, no snow.

Pack up, now it’s on to Salina (for those of you outside the state, it is the largest city in the area and the location of the nearest Sam’s Club, Kohls, and Lowes). It’s also home to Hickory Hut, great barbecue. I was under orders from Geogal to bring back some smoked meat, beef and pork preferred. I also did the necessary shopping (new polo shirts as the tie-required dress code at my workplace is suspended between Memorial Day and Labor Day). And since I’m here of course I’ll fire up the computer again. KAAS-DT was the only discernible signal on the digital side, the analog gave me KAAS’s analog version and a translator of Wichita’s KAKE.

In my entry regarding the DTV signal of KWNB, Hayes Center, Nebraska, I pointed out that its PSIP identified it as the parent station. Same thing with KAAS-DT. KAAS (and the aforementioned KOCW) are full-power satellites of Wichita’s KSAS, branded as Fox Kansas. KAAS was showing as KSAS-24 on the PSIP. Interesting, I thought all full-power stations had to use their original analog channel assignments as the PSIP identifying channel. Maybe not. Or perhaps there is an exception for satellites which fully repeat the on-air programming of the parent channel. I’m sure this doesn’t matter to most folks, and certainly not in the long run. I believe the channel identifying numbers used by digital stations will soon be irrelevant, but that’s another blog entry. Still, I thought this oddity deserved mention.

Shopping done, I head toward home. Decided to go a different way, north on US 81 then turn left on the 2-lane highway for a far piece. Still, it’s nice to drive another way as I enjoy variety. This is definitely one advantage Kansas has over Arizona. To drive differently in the Grand Canyon State sometimes requires going many extra miles. (If an alternate drive is feasible at all!) And this time of year even western Kansas is a nice shade of green.

Thoughts come together in the oddest way (sometimes)

Yesterday morning, before little Geoana and I left for school and work (respectively) she asked me if I knew of a baseball player named "Big Apfel" who played for the Red Sox. I said the name sure wasn't familiar to me and asked where she heard it. Turns out she was reading (Geoana is a voracious reader) a book titled Fudge-A-Mania by Judy Blume and this player was referred to by one of the characters.

Then I started to think some more. What Red Sox players do quickly jump to my mind? First is the obvious one, Ted Williams, even though he was way before my time. Who else? Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk. And that's about it. I'm thinking of players that will be associated with the Red Sox and no other team. That leaves out all of the current and just-recently-retired superstars.

And no, I will not make this entry a rant about how there is no team loyalty anymore, blah, blah, blah. Times have changed and I accept that.

But back to my mental wheels turning. I then thought about the 1975 World Series which led to images of Carlton Fisk's game-winning home run in Game 6. You know the one I mean--the famous footage of him waving his arms as if to coax the ball to "stay fair." If you haven't seen it, go here (the video clip link is on the lower right side of the page).

Then I recall having met the guy who threw Fisk the pitch, Pat Darcy. (This was years ago at a work-related event for my wife's then-employer.) I shared with him my being an Astros fan and he answered that he played for that very club before being traded to the Reds. I'll never forget his comment: "I went from a poorly-run team to a very well-managed one."

I can't argue that point, but having teammates such as Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Ken Griffey probably didn't hurt, either.

And the winner was???

Remember last post, where I was trying to decide which Mel Brooks flick featuring Dom DeLuise to watch? So which one won out? Here's a hint:

"You'll be surprised, you're doing the French Mistake, viola!"

I confess, I just used the DVD menu to watch the part referenced above. Hey, it was late and I was tired!

_______________________________

As the media (print and broadcast) continues to bleed red ink, maybe this piece will help explain why newspapers and journalists in general are mistrusted by the general public. News gathering appears to be a dying art.

A tough choice

To honor Dom DeLuise a day after his passing, do I watch Blazing Saddles or Spaceballs?

(Don't suggest Smokey and the Bandit II or Cannonball Run--I don't have those in my DVD collection.)

Quick notes

1) I'm enjoying the spring thaw. Mild winter? Not for me, it wasn't.

2) Barely a month into baseball season and all of my favorite teams are stinking up the place. (That's the Diamondbacks, Astros, and Angels in case you were wondering.)

3) Little girl now knows how to ride a bike. As I said to Geogal: "Now we've really lost her forever."

4) There is rhubarb growing in our backyard. Evidently a delayed housewarming gift from the previous owners.

5) Little Geoana only has two and a half weeks of school left and I don't know who's more excited, her or me.

6) I have to learn to cherish this time of year. The evenings are not hot, humid, and mosquito-infested, and they aren't bitterly cold, either. As Goldilocks herself might say: "Just right."

7) Learning how to balance my evening routine to get some blogging time in remains a challenge. By the time I figure it out everything will change!

8) Those home improvement shows on HGTV are addictive.

9) Long, sunlit days rule!

10) And finally, I am developing my list of the "Top Ten Science Fiction Movies That Are Not Star Wars Or Star Trek Related." (I think "Independence Day" might be near the top.)